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Henry IV, Part 1
by William Shakespeare
directed by Paul Mason Barnes
produced by Folger Theatre
reviewed by Tim Treanor

Oh, what a wonderful story this is, the apparently fictional but well believed and beloved account of England’s greatest King, when he was but a drunken sot, the scourge and embarrassment of his father. And what a magnificently powerful job Folger does with it, thrusting us through four-hundred-year-old dialogue into a world almost two hundred years older than that. (more…)

7(x1) Samurai: An epic tale … told by an idiot
written and performed by David Gaines
directed by David Gaines
produced by City Artistic Partnerships
reviewed by Leslie Weisman

There’s been an astonishing crop of one-man shows here lately, from Rick Miller’s MacHomer at Warehouse, to Josh Kornbluth’s Citizen Josh at Arena Stage, to Scott Renz’s Abe Lincoln at Cole Studio.  Perhaps the daddy of them all was Mike Daisy’s If You See Something, Say Something, a Fringe favorite this past summer that later played to sold-out audiences at Woolly Mammoth.  But Fringe-goers had another pick in mind when they voted for Best Solo Performance of Fringe Fest 2008: (more…)

Intelligence
written by Kenneth M. Cameron
directed by Walt Witcover
produced by Rep Stage
reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

Intelligence, a fictionalized tale of Central Intelligence, is taut, tight, almost thriller-like in its total command of the moment. The backdrop hints at high stakes CIA political maneuverings, behind the scenes, of course, in volatile Central America during the Iran Contra era.  Blend the political intrigue with ruminations about the insidious effects of power, the corrupting influence of money,  family duties, living with one’s life choices, let alone love and idealism, and you’ve got a bona fide hit, tailor made for today’s signs and times. (more…)

Temptation
by Václav Havel
directed by Allison Arkell Stockman
produced by Constellation Theatre Company
reviewed by Steven McKnight

Václav Havel’s Temptation transfers the classic Faust story to a modern scientific institute in a totalitarian country with healthy doses of political satire and absurdist humor.  It is a challenging work, but Constellation Theatre Company’s production succeeds due to an inspired creative team and a talented cast. (more…)

A Beautiful View
by Daniel MacIvor
directed by Daniel MacIvor 
produced by Studio 2ndStage
reviewed by Tim Treanor

A Beautiful View is minor MacIvor, a light saunter through the fields fronting the forest of the human psyche. Lane (Jennifer Mendenhall) and Max (Kathleen Coons) meet, lie to each other, fall in love, have sex. Max takes off (she’s not bisexual, after all - not well organized enough) but they eventually meet again, and become good friends. Lane gets married; it doesn’t work out. Max has a relationship with a dentist; it doesn’t work out. They get jobs, lose jobs, move. They form a ukulele band. (more…)

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?
by Caryl Churchill
directed by John Vreeke
produced by Forum Theatre
reviewed by Tim Treanor

This is a horrible little play, alternately turgid and incomprehensible. It is a waste of a fine director and two good actors, and should you chose to go, it will be a waste of your time and money as well.

The ostensible business of the play is the relationship between two figures - Sam (Adam Jonas Segaller), who Churchill identifies as a country and who obviously represents the U.S., and Guy (Peter Stray) who Churchill says is, well, a guy, an Englishman who is seduced by the dynamic Sam into leaving his wife and children and coming to America. (more…)

Altar Boyz
book by Kevin Del Aguila
music/lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker
choreographed by Christopher Gattelli
directed by Stafford Arima
produced by Nederlander of Bethesda, L.L.C. at Bethesda Theatre
reviewed by Gary McMillan

Get thee to this concert musical for 90 minutes of nonstop laughter! Altar Boyz is a freshly scrubbed, squeaky clean Windex to the … er, window to the soul, as delivered by the latter day Herman’s Hermeneutics or Dave Cleric Five. (more…)

The Suicide
by Nicolai Erdman, translated and adapted by John Freedman
produced by 1st Stage
directed by Mark Krikstan
reviewed by Tim Treanor

Pity poor Semyón Semyónovich (Lucas Beck). He lives in a glorious worker’s republic, and yet he has no job! His most recent scheme - to win untold riches, and to thus be able to drink all the eggnog he wants, by becoming a world-class tuba player - has fallen apart. In deepest despair, he acquries a gun and contemplates bringing it all to an end. And then his troubles begin. (more…)

Citizen Josh
written and performed by Josh Korbluth
directed by David Dower
produced by Jonathan Reinis at Arena Stage
reviewed by Tim Treanor

Before I attempt a neutral observation of monologist Josh Kornbluth’s political meditation, Citizen Josh, I must lay a barrier upon the table: Kornbluth and I are not, shall we say, of the same political practice. It’s not that we are in different pews; it is that we are in different churches, and his church is on Mercury while mine is on Pluto. (more…)

Huggings (La Importancia del Abrazo)
written, directed and performed by Pilar Nuñez and Jaime Lema
produced by Teatro de la Luna
reviewed by Rosalind Lacy   

The raw intensity of this opener for Teatro De La Luna’s Eleventh International Festival of Hispanic Theater comes straight at you from the cobbled streets and heartland of Peru, from effervescent fringe festivals and breaks beautifully with traditional theater. (more…)